The Dragonlord Experiment
Ryuu is a relatively unknown Shinobi and a member of an independent, semi-secret mercenary-like organization that belongs to no village. It should be noted that he is no Missing Nin, which would imply that he was once part of a village before defecting, but a Rogue Nin, meaning that he has never been part of a hidden village. As such, he never received formal shinobi training, never went to an academy, never got a ninja I.D. card. As a result, there is absolutely no information on this enigmatic individual; no files on his origins, on his abilities, on his affiliations, absolutely nothing. This shinobi doesn't even share his true name, provided that he even has a real name to begin with. Ryuu is in truth an alias that owes itself to his status as an ex-member of the Dragonlord Experiment. While his friends and colleagues refer to him with many different nicknames, Ryuu is the only one that can be used as an actual name and as such is the one used most often in conversation. When on the job however, he prefers to use the code name of The White Mask, which is an obvious referrence to his ANBU-like white mask. Backround 'Origins' Darkness. A lone corridor. Flickering shadows. The smell of dirt and rock. Two voices, sinister and slithering. "You know, I have been thinking a little lately. Ever since we started those plans for our next project." "I see, sir. What thoughts trouble you, sir?" "I wouldn't say....trouble. More like...intrigue? Wonder? Or perhaps pester." "Perhaps you just need to get them off your chest, or maybe your head, sir?" "Yes....perhaps. You know what people call individuals like us, right?" ".....Please don't tell me you've started to care about other people's opinions, sir." "Don't patronize me, boy! Just answer the questions as I ask them." "Alright then. Evil, failures, immoral beasts, madmen, demons, devils, snakes that poison whatever they touch...." "Indeed, indeed. What do you think of....that, boy?" "Of what?" "....Those...labels. This thing called....morality. Our identities as 'evil snakes'." ".....Philosophy?" "Surprised~? Kukukukuku....yes, I suppose you would be. I am quite the pragmatic person after all. But I want you to humour me." "Man has been alive for a long time. He has come up with many things ever since he gained the ability to talk and think. Evil, good, chaos, order...those are but concepts that humans have come up with in order to easily classify certain actions as 'right' or 'wrong'. By those standards....yes, we are evil people. Sick, disgusting human beings." "....But...~?" "The world is big, and ideas are small. In the end, it doesn't matter if an action is evil or good - the one who will win is the one who is stronger. Survival of the fittest. Those who have talent and power will step over others if they want to. Unless someone stronger puts them down, they can get away with anything." "Kukukuku....indeed. Strength decides everything. We can be 'evil' and 'horrible', but only someone stronger can stop us. Regardless of morality, in the end force becomes the deciding factor." "Right on the point, sir. People can call us evil snakes for all they want, but as long as fangs are stronger, we will live while they will die." "Yes, yes....but....lately, I have been thinking. If we are really snakes then....why would we need to stop at that? Why not rise above snakes? If we are going to be 'something', we might as well be the best at it, no?" "To rise beyond the level of mere snakes....dragons then? Do you wish to become a dragon, sir?" "Kukukuku...a dragon, you say? I once thought so as well, when I was young like you but....no, that is not enough for me now." "....?" "I wish to rise beyond even the mightiest of reptiles - I want to rule over them! A LORD of Dragons, I shall become!!!" "....This might actually be fun~" "Yes....yes it just might. And so, it officially starts....The Dragonlord Experiment!" And thus the pendulum began to swing. Ryu doesn't remember much from his childhood - as a matter of fact, he is not certain if he ever had one. He remembers nothing before the days in the lab - no parents, no friends. No one rocking him to sleep, no one singing to him by the bedside, no one scolding him or playing with him. Maybe they sold him, maybe they died - or maybe, he dreads, they never existed. His existence as a labrat were boring at best and painful at worst. There was no such thing as 'entertainment' - he never played with the other 'candidates', he never even knew them. His identification was a mere numeral. It was only during the experiments and the exercises that anyone addressed him, but even then it was hardly a conversation. Of course, there was no education and no one truly taught him people skills - they were not needed. He was a slab of genes for them to play around with. Injections, pills, physical exercises, chemical tests, special diets and lengthy periods of time spent under observation while isolated in his room. That was how he used to live back then. A clock was a concept he was not familiar with, the sun was just something he had read about in books. Being stuck in a room underground almost 24/7 - that was his reality. 'Out of the Shadows, Into the Light' The crashing sound of glass shaterring against the cold floor. A scream of rage, a roar of frustration. The sound of a blade slicing the wind, the thud of a limp body hitting the floor. Killing intent flows through the corridor, bloodlust fills the air. "No...no...no!!!!!!! This can't be happening! So close! So close!!!!" "It...it won't work, sir. His body...it is nullifying the seal. There is no rejection, it just...disappears! We don't understand, the research results-" "Silence, you fool! Do you understand how many years I put into this?! How many resources?! How much effort?!!! One sole survivor, one among so many, and he doesn't even have the courtesy of dying! No...nonono...this won't do..." "...Sir?" "....A failure. I...I was...I shouldn't have expected so much out of this. No, it was too soon to consider it. A mistake...? Did I make a mistake somewhere along the line? Or was the road leading to a dead-end all along?" "....." "Get the corpse of that worm out of here. Then...no, that thing is so beneath my...everything...I don't even feel like giving it a merciful end. We are leaving this place. Burn all the documents, but don't collapse the cave. I want that failure to die of thirst and hunger, with nothing but the door to his room standing between him and his freedom! Let him drown in despair and rot in loneliness!" "......Yes sir. I will notify the rest of the men." "Good. Now take the damn body and leave, before I have to call someone to dispose of BOTH of your remains!" On that day, a young boy's life was going to change. Or rather...to start. It was standard procedure. All the papers were burned. All the test tubes were broken, their fluids spilling on the earth and their contents violenty turned to ashes. In less than a day, there was nothing except for an empty array of tunnels. All except for the room with the survivor, a young, tired boy of not even 10 years of age. A thin boy with pale skin, dark hair and a pair of hollow, empty eyes of black, two tunnels with entrance but no exit. He knew, somehow. He knew. He could no longer hear the tapping echoes of feet hitting the floor of the nearby corridors. He could no longer hear the hushed whispers of the white-robed people outside of his door. The food was late, the water was late, and no one came to grab him for another test. He was truly, fully alone, he was soon certain of it. Or so he thought, until the door to his room was opened, the low clicking sound of the long-since rusted lock almost agonisingly loud in the deafening silence. He stood there, staring at the semi-open door. He didn't know how much time passed - an hour? Two hours? Three? A day? He did not know, he could not know. It was so odd, for no one to be stepping inside of the hole he called his room and for no one to be closing the door. He could just walk out and leave. Just like that. It was so simple it didn't seem true. Was it going to be so easy? This reality that he had long since accepted could be escaped by just putting one leg in front of another? Yes, it was. Slowly but surely, he stood up. Step by step, he approached the door, fully opening it and peering out to the darkness. It didn't bother him, his eyes had long since gotten used to low-lighting conditions. He knew this corridor like the back of his hand, and he knew that the exit was towards the direction that he was never allowed to go to. He hesitated for a second, doubting himself for a moment. Was he truly alone? Someone had opened the door, he was certain. The lock couldn't have just broken down out of pure luck. Was he being tested? Was this another experiment? He didn't know, there were just too many things that he didn't know. Except for one that is - he suddenly didn't care about anything. Whether this was another experiment, pure dumb luck or someone taking pity on him, he did not care. He could get out, out of this stuffy, smelly place. Freedom! To some it was a concept and to others it was a way of life, but to him it was just a mere word. Soon, his curiosity got the best of him. For the first time since he could remember himself, he broke into a sprint, a childish sprint. It was incredibly refreshing, to act on impulse like how someone of his age should. He ran and ran, his bare feet getting covered with dirt and his forehead starting to get covered in sweat. He never knew how long the tunnel was, but he could see the walls getting lighter in colour as he kept running. Sunlight? Was it sunlight? Yet another thing most people took for granted, yet another thing he had never seen or felt. He reached it; the exit, his freedom, his gift from the heavens. The first thing he did was cover his eyes - the light of the sun blinded him. It must've been morning, around 8-9 AM, but even so it was far too bright for him. He could feel his eyeballs struggle to adjust, but he did not mind. The stinging, maybe even painful sensation, it was almost cathartic, as if it was washing the lid of ignorance that clouded his vision for so long. He was gaining it, or going to - a new perspective, a true perspective. He was going to be alive god-damnit! If only it were so easy... ((More to come...)) Personality ((To be revealed through Role-Play - will be gradually filled out as time passes)) Appearance Ryu is well-built male of balanced proportions and earthly colours, having lightly tanned skin and the Uchiha Clan's onyx-coloured eyes and short, ebony-coloured hair. However, as dark hair and eyes are anything but abnormal in the Elemental Countries, his features hardly stick out from the rest of the crowd. He stands at a moderately tall height, though of course that may vary according to personal views. From his personal point of view however, he would describe himself as 'rather tall but not too much'. His physique is lean but very well-tempered and muscular which, in conjunction with his unique and excellent skeletal structure, allows his body to showcase surprising amounts of speed and flexibility without sacrificing physical strength. As a result he is in excellent physical condition and could pass off as an acrobat or a gymnast if he were to try hard enough. His eyesbrows are rather thin and his eyes are sharp, capable of looking either droopy or intimidating, depending on his mood and the circumstances of the time. His nose is straight, thin, not too long and maybe a little pointy. His lips are of average size and not very pronounced. He does grow facial hair, but he shaves regularly and so they are almost never seen - except maybe on a morning if he hasn't shaved for a few days. His chin is a little sharp but not too much and his jawline is rather masculine, but very far from square-like in shape. 'Outfit and Equipment' His 'working' outfit consists of black ninja sandals, long black pants held by a black leather utility belt, black gloves and a form-fitting black spandex bodysuit that he wears underneath. Over everything else, he usually wears a black, long-sleeved jacket that goes just beyond his knees. The collar is raised and can be closed thanks to a few small straps, and there is also a hood in the back that he can use whenever needed. The jacket is waterproof and comfortable, making it excellent for travelling and has several inside pockets that provide further storage room for equipment. He tends to remove it during combat, as it could get damaged easily. Lastly, he always wears a plain white mask in order to conceal his identity, with almond-shaped eyeholes instead of the usual spherical shape. His weapon-pouch is dark-brown in colour and hangs just above his right hip. He has two dark-blue holster instead of one, each tied to one of his outer thighs. Both the pouch and the holsters have storage seals applied on the inside, allowing them to hold much more equipment than they normally could. However, extracting equipment from within the seals requires the Generic Sealing Method, which may not be so easy to do in the middle of combat. It should be noted that his utility belt also can be used to store small items. Lastly, a custom kunai hangs just a little behind the right side of his belt, with a blade that is roughly 3 times longer than the average kunai. It is more suited for close combat, but is otherwise unremarkable and possesses no special characteristics. In short, it is just a long kunai. He does own civilian clothing, but his fashion sense is not very keen. As a result, his personal clothing choices are very casual and simple, as he doesn't trust himself with more complex combinations. If he is ever seen with something that is not overly simplistic, chances are someone else picked it out for him. Abilities ((To be learned through RP - more information will gradually be revealed as time passes)) Ninjutsu Nature Transformation Genjutsu Sharingan Chakra Prowess Intelligence Other Skills Stats Trivia Category:Male